Winder for web materials



April 1, 1958 R. w. PHELPS 2, 8, 6

WINDER FOR WEB MATERIALS Filed Juna 6, 1955 FIG] 2 Sheets-Sheet l 54 Low P2533025 65 30 A00 Pasasuaz INVENTOR.

7 '83 By RICHARD W. PHELPS W MLMvM ATTO RN EYS Ap 1,1953 R. w. PHELPS 2,828,926

WINDER FOR WEB MATERIALS Filed June 6. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 71 641 FIG-3 7 70 j (,7?

L 75 JNVENTOR. y RICHARD 'W. PHELPS 75/,L P 7 4 BY w WM? ATTORNEYS WINDER FOR WEB MATERIALS Richard W. Phelps, Fulton, N. Y., assignor to The Black- (C)lhaiwson Company, Hamilton, Ohio, a corporation of Application June 6, 1955, Serial No. 513,369

Claims. (Cl. 242-75.5)

This invention relates to the continuous winding of web materials.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a continuous winder for web materials which is of simple basic construction requiring a minimum of complex parts and controls while at the same time being capable of winding multiple successive rolls from an advancing web and of changing from a full roll to a new core without slackening of the speed of the advancing web.

Another object is to provide a continuous winder as outlined above which can be produced at economical cost in a simplified construction wherein control of the operation during roll changing is effected manually in accordance with observed operating conditions, and which at the same time is readily adaptable to automatic operation.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a continuous winder for web materials wherein the speeds of the full roll and the new core are continuously controlled during roll changing by variation of the pressure supply to friction clutches through which each core shaft is connected to a source of constant horsepower driving power in order to assure properly maintained tension in the web and a smooth and even start on the new core.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic front view of a continuous winder constructed in accordance with the invention;

Pig. 2 isa view looking from left to right in Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3 to 8 inclusive are diagrammatic views illustrating successive stages in the operation of the winder of Figs. 1 and 2 during the change from a full roll to a new core. I

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, the end stands 10 and 11 in Figs. 1 and 2 form the base frame for a double-armed reel 12 on a shaft 13 connected with an indexing drive motor 15 for effecting controlled rotation of the reel, the motor 15 being shown as of the gearhead type connected with shaft 13 by a belt or chain drive 16. The reel 12 is provided with a pair of core spindles and 21 each adapted to carry a core 22 on which a roll 23 is to be wound. Indexing of the reel controls the path of the web 25 to successive cores 22 from means such as a pair of pull rolls 26 for delivering the web to the winder at a predetermined controlled speed, which is readily determined by the speed of the machine from which the web is supplied to the winder.

Each of these spindles 20 and 21 is provided with its individually controlled friction clutch 30 and 31 respectively, and the driving members of both clutches are connected by chain drives 32 with a sleeve 33 free on shaft 13. This sleeve 33 is driven through a chain drive 34 A23 is ready to be removed from the spindle 21.

2,828,926 Patented Apr. 1, 1958 by a constant horsepower motor 35 or equivalent means for continuously driving sleeve 33 at a constant power output. In operation, this drive is correlated with the speed of the web to maintain substantially constant tension in the web by driving successive winding rolls at an angular speed which decreases at a proper constant rate to maintain an effectively constant peripheral speed for the roll. A dual meter is connected at 41 with one of the pull rolls 26 and at 42 with the motor 35 to provide a continuous indication of the feet per minute speed of the web and of the driven core, through pointers 44 and 45 respectively.

In accordance with the invention, the winder is equipped with a control system for the clutches 30 and 31 which provides for selective individual engagement and disengagement of the clutches and also for selectively effecting high pressure engagement of either clutch together with low pressure engagement of the other clutch. A main pressure air line leads into a pair of branch lines 51 and '52. The line 51 includes a pressure regulator 53 set to provide relatively low pressure as indicated by the gauge 54, for example 5 p. s. i., and line 52 includes a similar pressure regulator 55 and gauge 56 set to provide relatively high pressure, such as 75 p. s. i. The resulting low and high pressure lines 51 and 52 lead to a 4-way valve 60, and for convenience of illustration, the low pressure line is indicated in Figs. 3-8 by a series of dashes to distinguish from the solid high pressure line 52.

The valve 60 accordingly has a pair of outlet ports 61 and 62 which are reversible to provide either high or low pressure, by shifting the valve spool 63. The port 61 is connected by a line 64 to a 3-way valve 66 for controlling operation of clutch 30, and the port 62 is similarly connected to a similar control valve 65 for the clutch 31 by a line 67. As shown in Fig. 3, each of valves 65 and 66 includes a pressure port 70, an exhaust port 71 and an intermediate port 72 from which the line 75 leads to the associated clutch. The spool 77 in each of valves 65 and 66 is shiftable to effect alternate connection of port 72 with ports and 71 for engagement and disengagement of the associated clutch, this showing of the valves 60, 65 and 66 being illustrative of any suitable functionally equivalent valve.

The successive stages of roll changing on the winder of Figs. 1 and 2 are shown in Figs. 3-8. In Fig. 3, the

, roll 23a is Winding on the spindle 20 while a full roll The valve 60 is accordingly set to provide high pressure to valve 65, while low pressure is being provided to valve 66. Valve 65 is operated to supply the high pressure in turn to clutch 30 for high pressure engagement of this clutch, but valve 66 is in the reverse position to cause disengagement of clutch 31 so that the full roll 23 can be removed from spindle 21 and a new core substituted thereon. As shown in Fig. 3, the clutch 31 is accord ingly connected to exhaust as indicated by the dot-dash line to port 72 of valve 66.

Fig. 4 represents an intermediate stage during the wind ing of roll 23a, and the valve positions remain the same as in Fig. 3, the only change being that the new empty core 22 has been inserted on spindle 21. Fig. 5 represents the conditions just prior to roll changing, with the roll 23a nearing completion. At this stage, the reel has been indexed to bring the new core 22 near but not in contact with the web, and valve 66 has been shifted to supply low pressure to the clutch 31. The spindle 21 and new core 22 are accordingly being driven through clutch 31 but at the relatively low same angular speed as the almost completed full roll 23a. Since there is no load on spindle 21 during this stage of operation, the low pressure engagement of its clutch 31 is adequate for the desired initial rotation.

Fig. 6 shows the positions of the parts at the beginning of the actual roll change. The valve 60 has now been reversed to supply high pressure to valve 66 and low pressure to valve 65. Since clutch 30 is therefore now engaged only with low pressure, it will begin to slip and thereby to permit the drive motor 35 to accelerate and to increase the speed of new core 22 on spindle 21. At the same time, the limited drive force through the slipping clutch 30 to spindle 20, together with the momentum of the almost completed roll 23a, will maintain proper tension in the web.

The operator carefully observes the meter 40 during this stage of the operation, and at the same time the reel is indexed further to the position in Fig. 7 in which the web 25 wraps a substantial portion of the new core 22. The valve settings remain the same in Fig. 7 as in Fig. 6, as shown. As soon as the speeds of the web and the new core are matched, as, indicated by superpositioning of the pointers 44 and 45, the operator severs the web and starts it on the new core 22, this being readily done manually by breaking the web downwardly in such manner that its severed end is directed into the nip between the inrunning side of the web and the new core 22. This stage of the operation is indicated in Fig. 8, and as soon as the web has been severed and started on the new core, the valve 65 is shifted to disengage clutch 30. Thereafter as the new roll 2311 continues to build up on spindle 21, the full roll 23a is removed and replaced by a further new core, and preferably the reel will be indexed in the reverse direction from its position in Fig. 8 back to the position of Fig. 3 for this final step in roll changing.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus. and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A continuous winder for web materials in combination with means for delivering the web at a maintained predetermined speed, comprising a frame, a reel supported for rotation on said frame. a pair of roll supporting spindles carried by said reel for rotation therein and therewith. rt pair of friction clutches carried by said reel for selectively driving said spindles respectively, means for continuously driving both said clutches at a substantially constant power output correlated with said web speed to maintain substantially constant tension in the web, means for indexing said reel to control the path of the web from said web delivering means to said spindles, means for selectively engaging and disengaging said clutches to drive a winding roll on one of said spindles while replacing a full roll on the other said spindle with a new core. regulating means for effecting high and low frictional engagement of each of said clutches. and means for controlling said regulating mcam in predetermined relation causing high frictional engagement of said clutch on said winding roll spindle and simultaneous low frictional engagement of said clutch on said new core spindle during initial acceleration of said new core spindle prior to roll changing and thereafter causing low frictional engagement of aid clutch on said winding roll spindle and simultaneous high frictional engagement of said clutch on said new core spindle during acceleration thereof to said web peed and the subsequent roll changing operation.

2. A continuous winder for web materials in combination with means for delivering the web at a maintained predetermined speed. comprising a frame. a reel supported for rotation on said frame. a pair of roll supporting spindles carried by said reel for rotation therein and therewith, a pair of friction clutches carried by said reel for selectively driving said spindles respectively, means for continuously driving both said clutches at a substantially constant power output correlated with said web speed to maintain substantially constant tension in the web, means for indexing said reel to control the path of the web from said web delivering means to said spindles, means for selectively engaging and disengaging said clutches to drive a winding roll on one of said spindles while replacing a full roll on the other said spindle with a new core, regulating means for effecting high and low frictional engagement of each of said clutches, means for controlling said regulating means in predetermined relation causing high frictional engagement of said clutch on said one spindle and simultaneous low frictional engagement of said clutch on said other spindle during initial acceleration of said other spindle prior to roll changing and thereafter causing low frictional engagement of said clutch on said one spindle and simultaneous high fric tional engagement of said clutch on said other spindle during acceleration of said other spindle to said web speed and the subsequent roll changing operation, and means for reversing said controlling means to initiate a further roll change from said other spindle to said one spindle.

3. A continuous winder for web materials in combination with means for delivering the web at a maintained predetermined speed, comprising a frame, a reel supported for rotation on said frame, a pair of roll supporting spindles carried by said reel for rotation therein and therewith, a pair of fluid pressure clutches carried by said reel for selectively driving said spindles respectively, means for continuously driving both said clutches at a substantially constant power output correlated with said web speed to maintain substantially constant tension in the web, means for indexing said reel to control the path of the web from said web delivering means to said spindles, means for selectively engaging and disengaging said clutches to drive a winding roll on one of said spindles while replacing a full roll on the other said spindle with a new core, and means for regulating the operating pressure to said clutches to provide high pressure engagement of said clutch on said winding roll spindle and low pressure engagement of said clutch on said new core spindle during initial acceleration of said new core spindle and to provide for low pressure engagement of said clutch on said winding roll spindle and high pressure engagement of said clutch on said new core spindle during acceleration thereof to said web speed and roll changing.

4. A continuous winder for web materials in combination with means for delivering the web at a maintained predetermined speed, comprising a frame, a reel supported for rotation on said frame, a pair of roll supporting spindles carried by said reel for rotation therein and therewith, a pair of pressure fluid friction clutches carried by said reel for selectively driving said spindles respectively, means for continuously driving both said clutches at a substantially constant power output correlated with said web speed to maintain substantially constant tension in the web, means for indexing said reel to control the path of the web from said web delivering means to said spindles, separate supply lines for high and low pressure fluid for said clutches, reversible valve means for connecting said supply lines to respective said clutches, and control valve means between each said clutch and said reversible valve means for selective operation of said clutches in conjunction with said reversible valve means to provide high pressure engagement of said clutch on said winding roll spindle and low pressure engagement of said clutch on said new core spindle during initial acceleration of said new core spindle and to provide for low pressure engagement of said clutch on said winding roll spindle and high pressure engagement of said clutch on said new core spindle during acceleration thereof to said web speed and roll changing.

5. A continuous winder for web materials in combination with means for delivering the web at a maintained predetermined speed, comprising a frame, a reel nupassesses ported for rotation on said frame, a pair of roll supporting spindles carried by said reel for rotation therein and therewith, a pair of pressure liuid friction clutches carried by said reel for selectively driving said spindles respectively, means for continuously driving both said clutches at a substantially constant power output correlated with said web speed to maintain substantially constant tension.

in the web, means for indexing said reel to control the path of the web from said web delivering means to said spindles, a separate control valve connected with each said clutch and having a pressure port and an exhaust port for selectively providing operating pressure to said for operation of one said clutch together with low pressure for operation of the other said clutch and vice versa.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Vernon et a1. Oct. 9, i934 Catfrey Apr. 18, 1944 

